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Each
year, the Louis E. Martin Award honors a recipient who
has promoted racial harmony, while supporting and enacting
policies that have made a difference in American society.
Mr. Martin was an advisor to Presidents Kennedy, Johnson
and Carter, and a founder of the Joint Center. Previous
award winners are former President Jimmy Carter, boxer
Muhammad Ali, and lawyer and civil right leader, Vernon
Jordan.
During two terms in office, President Clinton had many
achievements, including a record budget surplus, a national
initiative to improve race relations and a landmark
parental leave law. He vigorously fought efforts to
end affirmative action, succeeding with a "mend it,
don't end it'' approach, and he established an earned
income tax credit that has had a huge impact on the
working poor. Furthermore, President Clinton kept his
promise to have an administration that "looks like America,''
and he appointed the most culturally and racially diverse
government in our nation's history.
The Joint Center's 2006 Annual Dinner will focus attention
on the impact of the historic Voting Rights Act of 1965,
which has helped increase the number of Black elected
officials from 1,469 in 1970 to more than 9,500 today.
The Joint Center was established in 1970 to provide
training, assistance and research to newly-elected Black
officials. Its mission has expanded over the years as
it has become one of the nation's leading think tanks
on health, social and economic policy impacting African
Americans and other minorities. The Annual Dinner will
also highlight the extensive work that the Joint Center
has done in the past six months in addressing the issues
of race and poverty associated with the response and
aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
"The
Joint Center plays an important role in our society
by addressing issues that impact millions of people
who are often overlooked by all levels of government,''
said Michael Todman, President of Whirlpool International,
who is the National Chairman of the 2006 Annual Dinner.
"We look forward to both old, and new, friends coming
out to our dinner to hear President Clinton and support
the Joint Center.''
The Joint Center's recent accomplishments include:
* Leading the formation of the National Policy Alliance
- ten organizations representing African American public
officials at every level of government. The Alliance
will enable African American public officials to speak
with a powerful voice on issues of concern to the African
American community.
* Analyzing the impact of public sector employment and
training programs on racial and ethnic disparities in
the labor market. This effort, part of the Joint Center's
on-going work on "The Black Worker in the 21st Century",
resulted in a widely circulated publication called A
Mixed Record.
* Providing training and technical assistance to non-governmental
organizations and elected officials in Southern Africa
over the last decade, including trail-blazing research
on the economics of HIV/AIDS, HIV/AIDS education, and
democracy-building in South Africa.
* Receiving multi-million dollar grants from the W.
K. Kellogg Foundation to support the Joint Center's
Health Policy Institute. Among the major initiatives
has been the Dellums Commission, which is identifying
and examining key public policy initiatives of the last
two decades that have resulted in reduced life options
for African American youth and other youth of color.
"These
are exciting times for the Joint Center," said Elliott
Hall, Chairman of the Board of the Joint Center. "We
look forward to providing further research and analysis
of political participation, economic advancement and
social and health policy that can make a difference
in the lives of African Americans and other minorities.
Our Annual Dinner plays a key role in supporting these
efforts."
CONTACT:
Michael K. Frisby
202-625-4328
Tiffany Young
202-789-6366 |
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